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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29586897">Bittersweet memories</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/LeapRabbit/pseuds/LeapRabbit'>LeapRabbit</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Assassination Classroom</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>All the characters are just mentioned besides Itona, Character Analysis, Character Study, How Do I Tag, Itona Horibe-centric, Light Angst, Not Beta Read, One Shot, Self-Reflection, There is not enough Itona fics in this fandom, Wordcount: 1.000-3.000, lots of headcannons, major spoliers, spoiler warning</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-16 00:40:11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,223</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29586897</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/LeapRabbit/pseuds/LeapRabbit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Just some late-night thoughts with Itona after Korosensei's death.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>18</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Bittersweet memories</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This is the longest fic I've ever written -_- I really hate writing long stories but I gave it a shot</p><p>Enjoy!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Aside from Terasaka’s snoring, the house was dead silent. </p><p> </p><p>Itona laid face up on his sleeping bag staying as still as a log, lest he wakes anyone up. The alarm clock on Terasaka’s nightstand mockingly flashed the time in bright red. It was 2 am, he let out a low groan of frustration. He’d been awake for about two hours already and even though he was drop-dead tired, he just couldn't sleep. Tonight he and the “gang” were having a sleepover at Terasaka’s house. </p><p> </p><p>Itona could never stay up this late. When he was with Yanagisawa, he had a strict curfew of 9 pm unless they were out trying to assassinate Korosensei. He had never been able to break that habit and so past 9 Itona could usually be found passed out on whatever surface he had been previously working or relaxing on. He was supposed to be asleep like those idiots he had befriended, being lulled to sleep by Terasaka’s snoring having some sort of idiotic dream where he had magical powers or something. He was <em>not </em>supposed to be awake at 2 in the morning staring up at Terasaka’s dumb bedroom ceiling feeling restless and tired all at once. Who was he kidding, it was befitting that he became a living juxtaposition.</p><p> </p><p>He was never one for needless avoidance, facing everything with his blunt attitude, most people found it endearing but he just found it practical. But now he couldn't help but wonder, what was bothering him? What was bothering him so much that it was taking his precious “beauty sleep” (Muramatsu’s claim. He never denied it though, he was a monster without sleep) away from him. He let out a small huff of annoyance and snuck out of Terasaka’s bedroom and headed down the stairs to the kitchen. He supposed since he wouldn't be able to sleep he should treat himself to a drink. </p><p> </p><p>Scourging the kitchen he pulled out a random mug and made himself some green tea. Having spent many nights at Terasaka’s house he was familiar with where everything is and he knew that Terasaka keeps a secret stash of chocolate in the cupboard above the stove on the far left behind the canned food. So of course being the good friend he was, he took some. With his drink and snack good to go, Itona left to go onto the back patio and sat down on a chair, and slowly drank his tea. His thoughts a hurricane in his head. </p><p> </p><p>It's been a week since Korosensei died. School had officially ended, closing the curtain on Class E’s assassination classroom. All of the students in 3-E were heartbroken over the loss of their extraordinary teacher. Korosensei had left them with so many memories and lessons that they’d cherish for the rest of their lives. While he’d only been in the class for about half of the school year, Korosensei had still left a lasting impact on him too. He got friends, a family, and he’d lost his desire for strength opening his eyes and heart. He learned that he could take things in stride and fail as many times as need be.</p><p> </p><p>He briefly wonders what his life would have been like if he was still with Shiro- er… Yanagisawa. He’d still have his tentacles, he would have most likely killed Korosensei by now. But then what else? What else would Yanagisawa have him do?  The thought hit him like a pile of bricks. He had never thought about what would happen after killing Korosensei. </p><p> </p><p>His intense desire for power would have him go along with anything Yanagisawa told him too as long as it would prove he was stronger. Itona cringed at the thought, <em> God how was I so easy to manipulate? </em> But there's no use crying over spilled milk he concludes, now he’s safe. Thanks to Korosensei and his friends in Class-3E.</p><p> </p><p>Staring up at the light-polluted sky, he could barely see the stars. </p><p> </p><p>Dark storm clouds started to thunder off in the distance, covering up the barely distinguishable stars. <em> Great. Rain</em>. Itona thought bitterly. He didn't mind the rain, as long as it wasn’t on him. Rain was water and Itona and water did not mix well. </p><p> </p><p>Ever since losing his tentacles he had been wary around water, always carrying an umbrella around, opting to sit in the shade rather than swim with his classmates. Yoshida had once pointed out his odd hydrophobic behavior.</p><p> </p><p><em> “He’s like a cat!” Yoshida shouted suddenly. He and the self-proclaimed “Terasaka squad” were eating lunch outside the classroom. </em> </p><p> </p><p>
  <em> “Excuse me?” Itona deadpanned. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> “Yeah! You hate water and your hair’s really soft,” Yoshida pointed this out by ruffling his hair, “and you're really grouchy.” </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Itona huffed, “I am not grouchy. You’re just way too laid back.” </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> “Yeah sure,” Tersaka says as he stole a bit of Muramastu’s lunch and rolled his eyes. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> “Keep rolling your eyes and you might find a brain back there.” </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> “Oi! Itona!” </em>
</p><p> </p><p>Itona has no reason to fear water but he can't help it, he’s been wary of getting wet for a long time. Especially since what he dubbed the “Waterfall Incident”. Getting wet affected his tentacles and made his movements sluggish and slow. That meant another hour of yelling from Yanagisawa.</p><p> </p><p>He’s started to get over this small fear of his, taking baby steps. But water does still affect him at times, it can cause his skin to break out into a rash, so could the Anti Korosensei knives and bb bullets. A constraint reminder of his past. He’s unsure whether it is a pleasant reminder or not. It certainly reminds him of Korosensei, water was one of his biggest weak points.</p><p> </p><p>When he first met Korosensei he only saw him as an obstacle, an irritation in the way of his journey to ultimate strength. He wanted- no <em> needed </em> to be stronger than him. It was some sort of need for validation. He needed to prove that he was strong, stronger than anyone. Stronger than everyone. So he played into the stupid “we were brothers” tale Yanagisawa had spun. He let Yanagisawa play him like a fiddle. Just thinking about it left a bad taste in his mouth. The three times he failed to kill Korosensei with Yanagisawa had embarrassed and aggravated him to no end.</p><p> </p><p>Why his infatuation with power came to be was because of the failure of Horibe Electronics. While that was the case, there was also more to it. </p><p> </p><p>When he was sent to live with his uncle his classmates bullied him day and night about how weak he was, about how he had no family, and a variety of horrid things he would rather not remember. Itona could have survived without Horibe Electronics, without the bullying, he'd like to think. (Yet he <em> knows </em> that deep down he would have ended up with Yanagisawa, with or without bullies.) No one knows this yet if someone were to ask he’d tell them. Again, no use crying over spilled milk.</p><p> </p><p>Had it not been for Terasaka, Itona would have most definitely died. Just the thought of that makes his blood run cold. But it wasn't only Terasaka. Muramatsu, Yoshida, and Hazama had all knocked some sense into him and he was able to start living as a normal teenager. </p><p> </p><p>Well, as normal as you can be when you’re trying to kill your teacher. </p><p> </p><p>His days only became more enjoyable when he hung out with Class E. He spent his Junior High days planning assassinations, eating some more of Muramatsu’s shitty ramen, and making fun of Terasaka. </p><p> </p><p>After he left Yanagisawa’s care he was put under Karasuma-san’s care, but he did and does crash at any of his friends' houses frequently. Korosensei also checked up on him endlessly to ensure he was settling into the class well. His tinkering had gotten him quite popular with the class (mainly the boys, the girls were not very happy about their supposed plan to peep up their skirts with the <em> Itona 1 </em>) so there weren't many issues. Nonetheless, he supposes he should thank Korosensei. It's because of him that he’s been able to live a fairly normal life.</p><p> </p><p>He recalls their last moments with Korosensei. Them singing happy birthday to Korosensei, Yanagisawa and the Reaper 2.0 attacking, Korosensei bringing Kayano back to life, the final roll call. Sometimes it feels like it was just some bad dream. That he’d wake up and go back to Class E and Korosensei would still be there ready to teach them. Unfortunately, time moves on and so must he. </p><p> </p><p>What a cruel, cruel world this is.</p><p> </p><p>When Nagisa killed Korosensei, Itona thought he’d remain impartial as all his classmates cried, a neutral party among the tears. But he was surprised as he felt tears leaking out of his eyes, he stared wide-eyed as Korosensei slowly disappeared turning into a beautiful yellow light. When he was no longer holding onto Korosensei and his hands were on the ground he felt himself shaking. Nagisa’s cries rang out clear across the field and soon all of them were crying.</p><p> </p><p> They’d been trying to kill him all year but now that he was actually gone they couldn't help but feel empty, their teacher, their mentor, their father figure (for some, Itona included) for the past year was gone. Tears flowed from every student's eyes and sobs racked their bodies.</p><p> </p><p>Whether hours or minutes had passed once they stopped crying they went back into Class E’s classroom heavy with memories of their precious teacher. They were greeted by the sight of two very large books sitting on each of their desks. One of these books was the Class 3-E yearbook. Every page was filled with the ups and downs of the class. There were photos as mundane as the class practice on their aim, to photos as boisterous as Karma trying to shove wasabi and mustard up Nagisa’s nose (poor guy). </p><p> </p><p>The other book titled “Korosensei's Rules to Live By” was a set of rules to live by which of course did not save them from his overbearing and quite ridiculous claims and advice. <em> “Maybe you could build a robot of me Itona! Give it an AI chip to have it act like me or do a summoning to call my spirit from the afterlife!” </em> Itona, quite ticked off, slammed the book shut with a small <em>tch</em>. It was just like Korosensei to say something like that. A hollow, dry laugh left him. But Korosensei is Korosensei, no one could be him. Especially an AI. The octopus that he’d grown so fond of is now gone. Korosensei had changed his life for the better and he hates that he had to die. He wishes Korosensei could have stayed around for a bit longer, stayed around to watch them grow up more, stayed around to fill their boring days with excitement. Even if it was for just one more day.</p><p> </p><p>The morning after they had killed Korosensei they went to Kunugigaoka’s graduation ceremony. Karasuma-san warns them that they’ll be hunted after by reporters but they didn’t mind. The ceremony itself wasn't too bad. The principal had warm words for all of them which was odd. He chats with Terasaka as they get escorted to the bus by the Big 5. Terasaka had some very explicit words to yell at the reports and Big 5 alike. After the ceremony was summer break. They spent the first day together reminiscing about their crazy assassination classroom. They all promised to keep in touch and visit each other frequently during the summer and once they’re in high school. Itona had chosen to go to the same school as Chiba, they both went to a high school largely focused on STEM. Itona focused on mechanical engineering while Chiba focused on architecture.</p><p> </p><p>After high school, he was going to start up his family's business again using his share of the prize money. It would take a bit but he’s sure he can get it back to where it used to be. Then maybe his parents will find him again or he’ll go look for them. He’s not sure what he’ll say once they meet up, it will definitely be a <em> very </em>awkward reunion, what would he even say? <em> “Hey mom and dad, remember when you abandoned me after Horibe’s Electronics failed? I'm doing just fine now no thanks to you. Yeah, I joined a mad scientist and had tentacles added to my body to kill a yellow octopus who said he would blow up the earth.” </em> Well, he couldn't say the last part since Korosensei was a government secret after all. He’d just avoid directly stating that Korosensei was his teacher and the tentacles part.</p><p> </p><p>Itona was brought out of his thoughts by the feeling of a raindrop on his nose. He glared up at the dark storm clouds that covered the sky like a blanket. “Great,” Itona muttered bitterly. He almost considers yelling at the sky for interrupting his dark brooding. He needed the time to work through… whatever this was. Perhaps he was feeling bothered because he hadn't let himself truly grieve. Maybe it was hormones, puberty, all that jazz. He just knew that the world felt of its axis without Korosensei.</p><p> </p><p>The memories were bittersweet, just like his tears.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I've been working on this fic on and off since November last year ;-; I couldn't figure out a good way to end it but I hope you liked it. </p><p>If you've reached the end consider leave a kudos or some suggestions on how I can improve my writing!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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